Station-indicator



(N0 M0clel.)

J. H. BICKFORD.

STATION INDIGATOR.

'Patented Beo. 6,1881.

N PETERS. Pholo-Liihngraplnr. Wnhillg\om D4 C.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN H. BIGKFORD, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS.

STATION-INDIGATOR.

SPEOIFIGATION f01'ming part of Letters Patent N0. 250,490,da10ed December 6, 1881.

Application filed August 29, 1881. (N0 model.)

T0 all whom z't mag; concern Be il: known that I, JOHN H. BICKLEORD, of Salem, Essex county, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvemenb in Station-Indicators, 0f which the following deseription, in conneccion with the accompanying drawings, is a speoification.

My invention relates t0 station-indicators for raiIway-trains, and is shown embodied in that dass of apparatus in which the indicators in the difi'erent cars are included in an electric oircuit, and operated simultaneously by elentric impnlses.

The indicator proper, bearing the names 0f the stations along the route, is actuated by a mechanical motor controlled b v an electromagnet in such a manner that it moves one enbire space to display a new station-sign at; each complete backward and forward movement 0f the annamre of the said magnet, it makingno difference whether the cireuit be nor mally closed and operated by breaking and aga-in closing it t0 prodnee a movemenb 0f the armature and signal 01 normally opened and an electrie impulse a-pplied and then removed t0 produce the said movement; of the indicator. The armatnre 0f the electro-magnet is provided with a bell-hammer t0 strike a Dell, and thus calltheattention 0fthe passengers toohechange of station-sign. The indicating device proper eonsists of tw0 circular disks mounted upon and rotating with a shafb aetuated by the said motor, and adapted t0 receive upon their periphery stripsbearing tha names of the differenb stations, Which thus f0rn1 a cyliudrical drun1. 'lhe said station signs or strips are made (1etachable, so as to be readily replaced by others, as When the mute 0f the car is changed, and the shaft is made detaehable, so that one entire drum can be easily ren10ved and replaeed by another. lhe motor is shown as aetuated bya spring, and is wound by a backward movement of Ehe said drum, Which can readily be turnedback any desired number of steps to bring it to the starting-point 01 t0 enable one drum 110 be put in unison With the others. I have provided a switch by which the controlling-mfignet may be removed from tl1e eircuit, so that the apparatus at the rear of each ear may be cut out or ehe resistance of its magnet the terminals 0f the said two wires together to complete the circuit.

Figure l is a front view of a station-indicator apparatus construc'ced in acoordance With my invention; Fig. 2, an end elevation 0f the m0- tor and its controlling eleetro-magnet; Fig. 3, a detail 0f tl1e escapement 01 stop mechanisrn therefor; Fig. 4, a detail ofthe latches by which the station signs 01 strips are antaehed to the revolving disks; Figs. 5 and 6, top and side views, respectively, 0f the eircuit-connecting devices; and Fig. 7 a diagram illustrating the elect-ric circuit; and. switches.

'lbe indicating device proper consists of tw0 connected disks, a a, the fonner being provided with a series of studs,- 2, and be latter with a series 0f pins, 3, and spring-catches b, (see Fig. 4,) t0 engage and hold in plane the station-signs c, provided with slots4, t0 engage the said suds 2 and pins 3. In attaehing the said station-signs c to the drums a a, one end is plaoed beneath the head of the stud 2, the slot 4 embracing the shank 0f the said stud, and the other end is pressed down upon the pin 3, the eud 5 0f t;he latch b being beveled. and springing aside, and then slipping over and engaging the end of the strip c as shown in Fig. 4. The said disks a a am mounted on a shat't, (l, preferably squared, and eugaging a sockeo', e, upon the end of the arbor e, actuated by the mainspringf, and provided with a ratchet,f, engaging a pawl upon the gear g, loose upou the said shaft e, and meshing With Lhe train 0f wheel-work g g g the arbor of the last wheel of which carries the stop-wheel h, controlled by the arnnature z of the electro magnetj. The train is so-proportioned that a complete revolution of bhe stop-wheel h pern1its a movement of the shaft e just sufficient to move the disks a space equal to ehe width 0f one of'the station-strips 0, so that a new station-strip is displayed ap each rotation 0f the wheel h, the entire apparatus thus far descr-ibed being inclosed in a case, as shown in Fig. l, the front of which is therein shown as open, and is adapted When c1osed to conceal the entire apparatus, except 011e f the stationsrips, which is 111 place behind an open1'ng Which is thereinindicated in dotted lines. Tl1e front 0f the sz1id case will be hinged 1l1eret0 for the pu1pose 01' ob'uainiug re-ady access to theinelosed partsas for changing the stationstrips e when desired.

The armature z is mounted upon a lvver, 1. pivoted ab G, 2111d having: is movement limited by stop-pins 1 the said lever beiug provided ab its lower end with 13w0 pallets 01 lateral projections, 70 k, arranged as shown 111 Fig. 3, the latter being; slightly below tl1e former, and havinq its upper face terminated nearly vertically beneath the upper face 0f the f01n101".

The stop-wheel 71 is provided xyith an engaging projection, (shown as 21 pinh) that in its rotation c mes into engager-nenl: with he pal- 1e1; k if the ar1nature be attracted, 01 the pal- 4 1et k if itbe unattraoted, 2111(1 is released f101n the pal-le1: k in its movement that takes place when the arrnaure is attracted. By this arrangement a double, movvmen of the armature backward und 1orward from either position will release the pin h and perrnit; the wheel 71 t0 make a revolution and the disks a a t0 m0v'e sufficiently t0 bring a new sration-sign. c, into view, and the said disks will always 100 stopped in proper position 10 display a station-sign whatever the condition 01 the electric circu1't may be. A hell-111111111101, 1 ca1ried by the 211- rnature-lever i, strikes ablow 011 ehe hell l 111 the movement 0f the ar1naoure, by Which the pin h is released and the station-sign permi1zted t0 change.

Tbe springfof the motor is wound by turning the shaft: d, together with the indicator, in the backward direction, the said shaft bei11g provided Wi'h a sujtable 1nilled head, d, f0r that; purpose, 211111 the teeth 0f the ratchet f correspond in position with the statiou-signs c, so tha1; by turning the said shafl: tl1e distance 0f one tooth on tl1e ratcbe1; a new 0ne of the said signs will be brought in position behind the opening 0f the case and 1;he differeut; instruments may be set in unison, 01 so as 150 give 1;he san:1e indication tbrougbont the train, by merely turning the said shaf d back until the same sign appears through be opening in eaeh instrument, i1' being understood that each instrument is provided wirh the same number of signs beariug the Same names and zirranged in the same order.

The circuit-wire 9 from one pole of the battery enters ti1e binding-screw 10, which is 00nnected with the pivoted arm m of a switch, 011e 01" the buttons, m, of whicl1 is cunnected with one electrode ot' 1:11e magne1: j, and 1;he other button,w, 0f Which is cnn11ected wi111 ehe 0Lher electrode 0f the said magnet and with the binding-screw 12, from whieu the circuiu is continued 130 the binding-screw 10 0f tue next apparatus. By th1s arrangement, when the switch m is 011 th'e bu1:1un m the magnetj is included in the cireuit; butz when 011 13110 bu1tou m the ci1cu1t pass =s divectly by the saic1 switch 01' the binding-screw 10 to the binding-serew 12, and 1:11e magnetj 0f the instrument veases to operate. A remrnwire. 13, passes tl11ougrhout the train t0 the oth@r pole 0f the battery, Which 1nay be plamd in the baggage-car 01 in any convenient place. The wires 9 13 f10m the differen1: poles 0f the battery are eonnected from 0211 t0 car by a device shown in Figs. 5 and 6, 113 consistingz 0f11w0levers 01 j-aws, n n. pivoted together ab 15 and pressed toward one another bv a sprin;r 0. The s211d jaws consist of two mvtallie portions mounted upon insulatin9: ma-

terial, am]. thus 111echaninally (301111Pu158d. the connecting device bei11g thus longitudinallydivided info 1:w0 indepenflant co11duct.ing portions, pp, as sl1own in Fig. 5 0110 being 011- nected wi1zh one and the other With 1he onher oftheoircuit-wiresextendingthrouqhthe train.

Euch GEH is p1oxided witl1 one 0f these 0011- nectiug devices a1; each end. When desi1ed t0 connect 11he circuit between wo cars tl1e jaws of the connecting device are separated bypresaing together tl1e 013hm ends ofthe p1voted levers, and 1;he jaws 01' the devices ao the meeting e11ds of tbe tw0 adjacent cars thus separatvd are intvrlocked, as shown in Fig. 6.

One portion, as p, 0f 0119 01' the jaws, as the 10we1* one. n, 0f tl1e connecting device, is provided with a concact-point, r, extending beneath the other portion, p, 0f Ehe opposite jaw, n, in such 21 manne1 ahnt; when the said jaws 2'1reopened, embr-acing the co1responding devices of the nexn cm, the said contact-pnint 1 is diseonnected from the portion p of said jaw; but when no1zhing is interposed between the said jaws, as a1; tl1e end 01' the last 0111 0f 13'110 train, a (0111321011 is made betwee11 the said jaw Wand the poin1; r, which thus connects nhe tw0 portions 12 p of the connecting device a11d completes the circuit f1o1n 0ne wire 150 the other.

Theope1ationis as follows: Tl1e cars throughoutthetrainbeing provided withim1icatorshaving simil-ar station-signs, c, similarly arranged,

those an 0ne end 0f 1:he car being in one order and those 2115 the other end in the reverse order, the switches m 0f the instruments a1; the forw-ard end 0f the ca1s being on tzhe button m and those ab the rear end 011 the button m the shaf'ts d will be turned back t0 the starting-point 0fthe series of station-signs c. battery be employed and Lhe circui1; is normally closed the 1110t01 Will remain stopped by t11e engagement of 1:11e pin h with the pallvt k 0f che armature-lever z", and when 21 given sta- 1;i0n is passed and it is desired 130 displa v the sign of tl1e 1'0110 wingstation theoperanor breaks tl1e circuit, permitting the pin h t0 fall up011 the pallet In without, however, giving 21 perceptihle movement 0f the shafl; d aml i11dicating-c vlimlvr, afte1 which 110 ag-ain closvs the eircuit, causiug the armaturei t0 be attrauted and the palletkto be withdrawn f1'0111 beneath tl1e pin h, thus releasing; the wheel I1, which is again stopped by the engagemeut ofuhe pin h IIO Ifa.

with the pallet 7c after substantially an entire revolution of the snidwheel and a suffieient m0vement0f the shaft d to bring a new station-sign in view through the opening in the inelosing-e-ase. This 0[)PI3HOU may be produevd hy a circuit-hreaker at any point in the trainas ful instnnce by mm'ing one of the switchesvnofl' fromifs burton and then returning in. If the circnil: were normally opened 01 elosed, but withuut a eonstant; current, as when a magnetO-generator is employed, the operation w0uld be similnl, except ahnt the pin h would be released by the firs movement 0f the arn1alure and wonld he first stoppedeither by Lhe palle 70 01 pallet k, aecording as the i1npulse was of greater er less durat1on than the timeo cnpied by therotation of tl1e wheel h.

The shaft; d is mwle t0 be wit;hdrawn longitudinally from the d1sks a a, and the entire drum, eonsisting 0f the said disks and stationsigns thereon, eun be removed bodily frou1 t-he inclosing-case, the said shaft beirig normally held in plnce hy a eatch, (P, engaging an annular groove, 16, in the said shafb.

lt desired, the handle d may be removed and the motor wound und indicaing-drum sei; by a suitnble key insertsed through the inclosingcase, the shalt e being shown in dotted lines zu; e as squared for t-his purpose.

By nmking the station-signs (letaelml)le and the entire indicating-clruxns removable the apparatus can be cunveniently employed. with cars whieh are used at diiferent times npon difl'erent routes.

l. The eombination, with the series of sta tion-signs and n10t01 t0 move thexn in one direction, provided with a stop-wheel having an engaging projection, 0f the electro-m'aguetand its armature-lever pruvided witl1 two pallets properly arranged f0r one to engage the said projection when the armature is attracted, and

the other 120 engage the said projection with the said stop-wheel at substant-ially the sarne point when itis unattracted, whereby thesame station-sign will be displayed whether the circuit be left open 01 closed, substantially as desoribed.

2. In a station-indinator, the indieator-shaft and means t0 control its movements, cnmbined with the disks mounted upon the said shaflz, one provided witb studs and the otsher with spring-cntehes, and the detaehahle stationsigns adapted to be held in place up0n the said disks by the said stnds und catches, substantially as described.

3. In a station-indicating apparatus, the following elements in combinarion: theindieator proper, provided with station-signs and the motor to aetuate it and elecrro-magnet t0 coutrol the snid motnr, and Lhe sign-al hell operated by the armature 0f Ehe said controllingmagnet, all arranged and to operate substantially as and f01 the purpose set forth.

4:. The herein-described circuit-conneeting device, consisting 0f tw0 jz1ws pivoted and pressed together by springs, each jaw being divided electrieall y into l;w0 portions, t0 be counected with the two wires of the cireuit, and a eontact-pieee connected with one portion of one 0f the said jaws -(111d arranged 130 1nake a contact with the 0Lher portion cf uhe 0111er jaw when the jaws are elosed together, but t0 be disconnecte l therefrom when the said jaws am separated, as when embra-cing, the termiuals 0f the 0the1 wires t0 be eonnected by the said deviee, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hzwe signed m v name to this speeifieation in be presence 0f two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN H. BIOKFORD.

VVitnesses:

J es. P. LIVERMORE{ W. H. SIGSTON. 

